Photo story: Islam in China – The Uyghurs (part II)

Market scene in Kashgar. The main commodity is cooked meat. Heads, legs and tripe are considered delicacies here.

The Idkha Mosque in Kashgar, the cultural and historic centre of the Uyghur people in Xinjang Province, and the symbol of the Uyghurs

Inside Idkha Mosque

Chinese and Uyghur, both current scripts in Xinjang

Uyghur musicians lifting the spirits as they accompany a wedding procession

On the road to the great Sunday cattle market near Kashgar

Cattle traders chatting while waiting for buyers

An Uyghur looking around at the great cattle market

An interested Uyghur testing a horse on the cattle market

An Uyghur preparing fresh noodles in a food stall on the market

Little has been left over of the original, traditional mud building style in Kashgar, after almost all buildings were destroyed by the government and replaced with concrete buildings. An enormous loss of cultural heritage

A large statue of Mao keeping watch over Kashgar, for those who would still doubt whether the region belongs to China

An old palace in Central Asian style near Turfan, Xinjiang province

An Uyghur leaving the market in Turfan

The Uyghurs are known for their love of dance. Their dance style greatly differs from Chinese dancing. Here Uyghurs in traditional clothing are parading and dancing through the streets during the grape festival

At a collective wedding ceremony during the grape festival some hundred couples say yes. The first couple is symbolically carried over a fire on a carpet, a tradition hailing back to zoroastrianism.

At a collective wedding ceremony during the grape festival some hundred couples say yes.

The story of the Uyghurs is a sad one. On entering China through the west, after travelling through Central Asia, one would imagine to be anywhere but in China. Kashgar, all but the westernmost city in China and the historical and cultural centre of the Uyghur people, rather reminds one of Uzbekistan or Iran, but certainly not China. The further east one travels through the enormous province of Xinjiang the more the influence of the Han Chinese becomes apparent. Uyghurs once accounted for 95% of the population but nowadays are reduced to less than 50%.

The story of the Uyghurs resembles that of the Tibetans: a story of colonization.

The story of the Uyghurs resembles that of the Tibetans: a story of colonization. Only, the land of the Uyghurs is not situated high up in the Himalayas, making it attractive to settle. Today, the Uyghurs all but lost their claim to the land they lost to the coloniser. Although both Muslims, the Hui and the Uyghurs just coexist, and in different regions. When they do happen to live in the same region, each group seems to visit their own mosques, if only because they speak different languages.

The Uyghurs are a Turkic people and use an Arabic-based script. Most of them neither speak nor read Chinese. They feel strongly oppressed by a Chinese government policy that puts severe limits on their religious life under the guise of fighting separatism. Men are often not allowed to grow beards and women are banned from wearing headscarves. This is in sharp contrast with the Hui, who, within the limits of the so-called communist regime that is fundamentally anti-religion, enjoy relative freedom of worship. They get on very well with the Han with whom they share the language and a large part of their cultural heritage.